Finding Light in the Darkness

Tag Archives: Ray Albers Video

The video above shows the suburban St. Louis police officer who threatened to kill protestors with his weapon drawn in Ferguson is Lt. Ray Albers, according to his boss, Sebastian Murdock reports, CONFIRMED: Cop Who Threatened Ferguson Protesters Is Lt. Ray Albers. The 20 year police veteran and Army veteran of four was caught on video screaming at protestors, “I will fucking kill you,” while pointing his rifle at civilians, St. Ann Police Chief Aaron Jimenez told The Huffington Post Wednesday night. Jiminez said Albers told the chief he felt sick to his stomach and “should of known better.” He was placed on indefinite, unpaid suspension while an investigation is underway. Jimenez said, “It’s frustrating, because we told [our officers] before we went down there that there would be lots of people trying to antagonize to provoke them into saying something. Whether you’re a pedestrian or protesters, you have to be professional, and [Albers’] actions weren’t in any way, shape or form. He saw three to four suspects with bandanas on, and saw one of them raise a gun towards him. That made him draw his weapon up to the crowd, and he was scanning and moving that weapon back and forth, trying to asses the scene. … Him seeing the gun in the crowd, he had every right to protect himself in fear of danger until he assessed the scene. Most of the protesters are really good people, but there’s a small percentage of people that are out there trying to antagonize and make the protesters look bad. When he was asked the name, you need to be giving your name so they know who to contact. So when he said, ‘Go F yourself,’ that was uncalled for too.” On Tuesday, President Barack Obama said the day after two journalist were arrested while covering Ferguson: “Here, in the United States of America, police should not be bullying or arresting journalists who are just trying to do their jobs and report to the American people on what they see on the ground.” The explanation for so many journalist being arresting in Ferguson, according to Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol: “We’re not sure who’s a journalist and who’s not. And yes if I see someone with a $50,000 camera on his shoulder I’m pretty sure. But some journalists are walking around and all you have is a cell phone because you’re from a small media outlet.” Legally, the police are within their rights as a general counsel for the National Photographers Press Association told The Poynter Institute that while reporters are protected by the first amendment, police can order journalist away from a dangerous area and non compliance with the order can lead to arrest. 48 news organizations have penned a letter to the Ferguson police force citing concerns for journalistic freedom and asking for increased transparency for law enforcement.

On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder arrived in Ferguson to meet with federal investigators and reassure residents of the racially torn suburb, Jim Suhr reports, Holder: ‘Change is coming’ after police shooting. The visit comes as a grand jury the same day in Clayton heard evidence to determine whether the officer who shot Brown would be charged. Outside the St. Louis County Justice Center in Clayton, where the grand jury was convened, two dozen protestors gathers in a prayer circle, chanted and held signs asking prosecutor Bob McCulloch to step aside due to deep family connections with police cited by black leaders concerned about his ability to be impartial in the case of Darren Wilson who fatally shot Brown on Aug. 9. McCulloch’s father, mother, brother, uncle and cousin all worked for the St. Louis Police Department, and his father was killed while responding to a call involving a black suspect. The protests were subdued Tuesday night with smaller crowds, fewer confrontations and no tear gas. However, 47 arrests did occur mainly due to people defying orders to disperse. IN a letter published late Tuesday on the St. Louis Post Dispatch website, Holder promised a thorough investigation and the arrest patterns “must not lead to disparate treatment under the law, even if such treatment is unintended. And police forces should reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.” The department has mounted an unusually swift and aggressive response to Brown’s death from conducting the independent autopsy to sending dozens of FBI agents to Ferguson to find witnesses to the shooting. As for the county grand jury, prosecutor’s spokesman Ed Magee said Wednesday that there is no timeline for how long the process could take, but it could be weeks. In a public statement, officials said, “We plan to learn from this tragedy, as we further provide for the safety of our residents and businesses and progress our community through reconciliation and healing.”

As for the officer responsible, an incomplete picture of Texas born Ferguson officer Darren Wilson has emerged since the Aug. 9 shooting as either an aggressor whose deadly gunfire constituted a daylight execution or a law enforcer wrongfully maligned for just doing his job according to Jim Suhr, Picture emerges of officer in Ferguson shooting. The Brown family’s attorney labeled Wilson as a murderer, though the investigation continues and no charges are filed. An online fundraising drive on Wilson’s behalf as of Thursday has raised $77,000 in donations. Former high school classmate and hockey buddy, Jake Shepard, said having talked to Wilson since the shooting: “I think he’s kind of struggling a little bit, but I think he’s doing OK. He didn’t really want to talk much about it. But I can tell you for sure it was not racially motivated. He’s not the type of person to harbor any hate for anybody. He was always nice, respectable and well-mannered, a gentleman. He doesn’t have anything bad to say about anybody, ever. He’s very genuine.” Similar depictions of Wilson have come from his boss, Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson.